Are you comfortable calling yourself a leader? Drew Dudley asks the audience this question during his TEDx Talk in Toronto. Few hands reluctantly elevate as he goes onto explain that this is the most common response from his audiences and from most people, generally. I’ll admit that I wouldn’t readily label myself as a leader – but why not? It could be because of the skewed perception that leadership equates to power. In other words, we think of leaders as being “higher beings” or, like Drew says in his talk, a “characteristic reserved for the extraordinary.” This is where we go wrong. Leadership is not only power and status; it just so happens that it most often reveals itself through those means. In truth, it is a combination of honest action and emotion. We need to start thinking of leadership in a different way and broaden it’s current definition. In my eyes, leadership is the ability to communicate well, have confidence and reliability, creativity, and strong intuition.

If you watch Drew’s talk, he goes on to explain how a small event, what he calls a “lollipop moment,” in his past meant the world to another person. It’s proof that we are more important than we know. I have always been a hard worker both in school and at my jobs, I am a positive role model to my younger relatives, and am a rock for my friends and family. From now on, I vow to call myself a leader. I will no longer be afraid of coming off as arrogant or wondering if I truly deserve the credit of such an influential title. Let’s redefine leadership to make it more attainable. Be fair to yourself – you are a leader, and you deserve to call yourself one.